Welcome to Day 2394 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Day 2394 – How to Shock an Unbelieving Crowd 4:1-6 – Daily Wisdom

Putnam Church Message – 06/02/2024

Our Strange Life – How to Shock an Unbelieving Crowd.

1 Peter 4:1-6

Last week, we explored the importance of being a faithful Christ Follower and the necessity of public baptism for Focusing Fully on Jesus Christ.

Today, we focus on the attitude that we, as Christ’s Followers, should have and on the possibility that our lives may shock the unbelieving crowd.

Today’s passage is 1 Peter 4:1-6, on page 1890 of your Pew Bibles.

 ¹ Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. ² As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. ³ For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. ⁴ They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. ⁵ But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ⁶ For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

Throughout the New Testament, we read of the changed life that follows genuine conversion. When God freely and fully forgives the sins of our former life|when the righteousness of Christ is credited to our account |and the Spirit of God takes up residence in our hearts|then the old things pass away, and all things become new (2 Cor. 5:17). This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! The lifelong process of transformation begins. This radical series of changes alters our attitudes, inner motives, habits, and pursuits, as well as our choice of close friends.

As far back as the first century, Peter wrote of all these things. Though almost two thousand years separate us from Peter’s original audience, there isn’t a Christian today who can’t identify with the apostle’s words. Written for a particular time, they are nevertheless timeless. They speak with incredible relevance today, especially his comments regarding the reaction of those who don’t know the Lord. In this section, Peter reminds us that because our citizenship is in heaven, the current world isn’t our true home in its current form until Jesus transforms it into a Global Eden upon his return. We’re representatives, yes, Ambassadors of a different kingdom. And like foreign tourists visiting another country, we may be the only way people get a picture of what God’s kingdom is like. As a result, unbelievers today will either be attracted or repelled by our heavenly home.

-4:1-3-

With the logical conjunction “therefore,” Peter is saying in shorthand, “Now, in light of everything I have just written about Christ, I’m going to present you with some practical conclusions.” In the previous section, Peter discussed Christ’s suffering and death to pay for our sins and His resurrection to give us new life. But Peter’s discussion also included the reality that those who have responded to this message in faith have put to death the old life and have begun anew—a private transformation marked by public baptism.

In light of our relationship to Christ’s saving work, Peter urges his readers to: “arm yourselves also with the same attitude” of dying to the old |and living for the new. The Greek word hoplizõ, translated as “arm yourselves,” is a military term that refers to a soldier taking up weapons in preparation for battle. Paul uses the related noun (hoplan) to refer to the “armor” of light (Rom. 13:12), “weapons” of righteousness (2 Cor. 6:7), and “weapons” of spiritual warfare (2 Cor. 10:4). The word-picture of the Christian as a soldier is common in the New Testament, reinforcing the truth that we’re soldiers in a spiritual battle. Look at the picture of the Roman Soldier in your Bulletin Insert as a reference for what Commentator Kenneth Wuest writes, “The noun of the same root was used of a heavy-armed footsoldier who carried a pike and a large shield. . . . The Christian needs the heaviest armor he can get, to withstand the attacks of the enemy of his soul.” (Bulletin Insert – picture of Roman soldier or armor)

Peter’s point is clear. Christ didn’t send us into the world as vacationers on a self-guided playground tour but as soldiers on a tour of duty on a battlefield. We’re not called to kick back, relax, take in the scenery, and wait for our Guide to take us home. We’re engaged in a fierce conflict on foreign soil. We are agents in a hostile empire. We need to arm ourselves with spiritual armor to withstand the temptations of this world. (Show Armor) Peter says if you have been conformed to Christ’s death and resurrection, the power of sin has been broken (4:1). Because the old person you used to be has died with Christ,| you are now free to live with Christ.

Verses 1-3 provide four reminders of our new condition that will help all of us arm ourselves for our tour of duty in this hostile world. (Bulletin Insert)

• We no longer serve sin as our master (4:1).
• We don’t spend our days overwhelmed by desires (4:2a).
• We’ve opened the door to the will of God (4:2b).
• We’ve closed the door on godless living (4:3).

Don’t overlook the strong contrast between the “will of God” (4:2) and You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy (4:3). In a certain sense, all believers have in their lives a BC and AD—before Christ and after Christ. For many of us who, by God’s grace, grew up in a Christian environment, the line of demarcation is not as distinct. For others, there is a clear line of separation between the old and new life.  Before this spiritual birthday, the old person lived out the old course of life, which may have included: immorality and lust, feasting and drunkenness, wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols. (4:3). Peter’s list isn’t exhaustive, but it paints a picture of what many believers’ BC years were like. When we consider that many people in the world still live in this BC period, it shouldn’t surprise us that they expect everybody to speak their foul language, follow their distorted mindset and customs, and uphold their corrupt cultural values. When we don’t conform, they notice. When we allow our transformation to play out on the stage of life, we’ll stand out from the rest of the crowd because we don’t participate in their self-indulgent escapades.

— 4:4-5 —

Maybe you’ve heard some of these reactions to your new and different way of life in Christ.

• “What do you mean you don’t do that?”
• “C’mon! You mean God doesn’t want you to have fun?”
• “So, you think you’re some kind of saint?”
• “You think you’re better than we are?”
• “What’s wrong with you?!”

When we close the book on the old chapter of our lives and open up the new, our friends and colleagues usually respond with surprise, sometimes even shock. In their astonishment at your new life, they may ignore or abandon you. You soon discover that you no longer get invited to their parties or that they won’t ask you over for dinner. You may even lose their companionship.

In many cases, the world will respond with disdain. Peter says they will “Slander – heap abuse on you.” (blaspheme). The word blasphêmeõ refers to a harsh, slanderous outburst against sacred things. In this context, the sacred thing they malign is the believer, the person set apart for holy living in an unholy world (3:15). However, by blaspheming the ambassadors, they’re also blaspheming the kingdom and its King,>the great Lord and Judge. Your very presence in the world, taking a stand for what’s true and good, becomes a Standard of Righteousness against which unbelievers don’t measure up. This reminds them that God has a righteous standard and will one day call them to account for their lives (4:5). That kind of reminder will make any fast-living unbeliever despise believers as “speed bumps” of life.

— 4:6 —

I would love to say that everyone who gets turned off by the new lives of believers will ultimately surrender their lives to the Lord. Peter presents this as a possibility and even a goal for sustaining our Christian testimony amid persecution (2:15; 3:1, 15-16). But the threat of reprisal parallels that thread of hope (2:18-19; 3:14, 17). The history of the church provides numerous examples of believers whose new lives in Christ led to harsh treatment, threats, persecution, imprisonment, and sometimes death.

FACING FURY WITH FEARLESS HOPE – 1 PETER 4:1-6

All believers would benefit from reading historical and modern accounts of Christians who have suffered for their faith. For example, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs traces the martyrdom of Christians throughout the centuries. It demonstrates how darkly the world can act in its attempts to extinguish the light of Christlike character. We see one famous account of the second-century martyrdom of Polycarp, pastor of the church in Smyrna, who had known and learned from the apostle John himself. Polycarp faced the fury of the proconsul of Smyrna with fearless hope. Let me read an excerpt of the story about Polycarp.

And when he came near, the proconsul asked him whether he was Polycarp. On his confessing that he was, [the proconsul] sought to persuade him to deny [Christ], saying, “Have respect to thy old age,” and other similar things, according to their custom, [such as], “Swear by the fortune of Caesar; repent, and say, Away with the Atheists.” But Polycarp, gazing with a stern countenance on all the multitude of the wicked heathen then in the stadium, and waving his hand towards them, while with groans he looked up to heaven, said, “Away with the Atheists.” Then, the proconsul urging him, and saying, “Swear, and I will set thee at liberty, reproach Christ;” Polycarp declared, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?”

And when the proconsul yet again pressed him, and said, “Swear by the fortune of Caesar,” he answered, “Since thou art vainly urgent that, as thou sayest, I should swear by the fortune of Caesar, and pretendest not to know who and what I am, hear me declare with boldness, I am a Christian…”

The proconsul then said to him, “I have wild beasts at hand; to these will I cast thee, except thou repent.” But he answered, “Call them then, for we are not accustomed to repent of what is good in order to adopt that which is evil; and it is well for me to be changed from what is evil to what is righteous.” But again the proconsul said to him, “I will cause thee to be consumed by fire, seeing thou despisest the wild beasts, if thou wilt not repent.” But Polycarp said, “Thou threatenest me with fire which burneth for an hour, and after a little is extinguished, but art ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly. But why tarriest thou? Bring forth what thou wilt.”

While he spoke these and many other like things, he was filled with confidence and joy, and his countenance was full of grace, so that not merely did it not fall as if troubled by the things said to him, but, on the contrary, the proconsul was astonished, and sent his herald to proclaim in the midst of the stadium thrice, “Polycarp has confessed that he is a Christian”!

In 4:6, Peter addresses the reality of those believers—known to his readers —who had given their very lives for the gospel. Remember that this second significant section of Peter’s letter answers how believers are to live as strangers in a hostile world, where they can expect to be mistreated for their faith in Christ. Peter refers to those who heard the gospel of Christ, but were judged, literally by “human standards in regard to the body”—that is, declared “guilty” by human standards and put to death. Similarly, Christ had been put to death “in the flesh” as a result of human judgment (3:18; 4:1). Yet He was also made alive “in the spirit” and resurrected to new life (3:21-22). In the same way, believers who suffer the ultimate expression of rejection, persecution, and judgment in this life now live forever with God in the Spirit. (4:6) and, like their Lord, will one day be resurrected to eternal life.

Throughout history, the majority of Christians have never had to face martyrdom, though many have been the object of various levels of ridicule and rejection (John 15:18-20; 1 Jn. 3:13). As we face anger from friends and family, we should never forget that even though we are judged in the flesh by unbelievers, God has judged us “not guilty” by His grace. So now we can live in the spirit regardless of what people may do to us emotionally, mentally, or physically.

APPLICATION: 1 PETER 4:1-6

Standing Out in the Crowd

Everything in 1 Peter 4:1-6—the warnings and the rewards— presuppose that something in your character marks you as a Christian. I’m not referring to wearing a cross around your neck, sticking a fish symbol on your bumper, or driving to church on Sunday mornings. (There is nothing wrong with those symbols) No, I mean something that makes you stand out in the crowd. It’s easy to appear Christian at certain times and places. But to live a life of integrity in which your internal attitudes match your external actions everywhere and always—that’s something different. This is the kind of radical discipleship described in the heart of 1 Peter.

In 4:3, Peter mentions the “times in the past” when believers lived in the flesh before converting to Christ. He gives a few ideas of what that old life looked like, in case his readers forget the kinds of things from which they were saved. This is an ideal moment to reflect on specific things from which you were delivered personally. On the left side of the graphic, list some inner and outer characteristics that marked you in your BC days (negatives). Then, note the observable changes in your attitudes and actions (positives) on the AD right side. Think before you write.

Rather than quickly moving past this exercise, return to the left side (BC) and note the elements of the old lifestyle that somehow keep jumping over the cross and back into your new life. Circle these lingering habits of your old character. Mark them as exposed parts of your character over which the armor of God needs to be strengthened. As you take Peter’s challenge to “arm yourselves,” focus Christ’s transforming power on these particular issues, surrendering them to Him through prayer. Ask God to strengthen you in those specific areas by His Holy Spirit. Then, trusting that His power is working in you and with you, take the first step to strengthen these weaknesses in your life. It may not come easily. It will take time. In some cases, it may very well take help from others. But the outcome will make you a stronger soldier of Christ.

Do you want to stand out as an ambassador for the kingdom of light amid an empire of darkness? Do you want to be like brave soldiers of the faith throughout history? Of course, you do! You don’t need to arm yourself with fanaticism. You won’t want to cultivate a judgmental attitude or wag a condemning finger. All you have to do is put on a lifestyle impervious to unreasonable assaults. Some may give you the cold shoulder. Others may lash out with slander. Others may even try to harm you physically. But some people will see the noble character reflected in your changed life and inquire about your King.

Next week, in the second section of  the letter of 1 Peter called “Our Strange Life,” our message is titled “Marching Orders for Soldiers of the Cross.” Invest some time reading 1 Peter 4:7-11 for next week’s message.